Month: May 2022

“Idiots. Scumbags. Disgrace.”

“Idiots. Scumbags. Disgrace.”

“Idiots. Scumbags. Disgrace.”

Those were the words of Roy Keane following the final whistle of Manchester City’s come from behind victory over Aston Villa to secure the Premier League trophy. But he wasn’t talking about the football; he was talking about the actions of fans, who assaulted Villa keeper Robin Olsen. Olsen took a hit to the back of the head, and footage captured 2 more moments as stewards escorted him off the pitch, with one fan accidentally clocking him around the head as filming the spectacle on his mobile, and another clearly shoving him.

Sadly, this was just one of a number of incidents during recent weeks during pitch invasions by fans:

  • During a pitch invasion following Everton’s win over Crystal Palace (which secured the Toffees’ place in the league next season, assuming no penalties for questionable finances) a fan taunted Palace manager Patrick Viera, which led to the Frenchman apparently kicking out at the fan
  • A Nottingham Forest fan was jailed for 24 weeks after headbutting Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp following their play-off semi-final tie
  • Swindon Town manager Ben Garner said his players were “physically and verbally abused” after their League Two play-off semi-final defeat by Port Vale

And that’s not even counting all the cases of people in the crowd throwing items at the players, or racist abuse. Or that absolute travesty we saw from England fans after the final of the Euros.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

It’s time for the FA, UEFA, FIFA and all other governing bodies to step up and take action, with a zero-tolerance approach. A fan’s place is in the stands, so anyone invading the pitch should get a lifetime ban, as should any fan found abusing players or throwing projectiles. Get them out of the grounds so that the people who love the game and will represent it in the right way are present.

But the punishment for clubs/national teams should be huge as well, in order to set a deterrent. Any misbehaviour from fans has to be punished. Fines must be much larger to actually impact these clubs ran by the richest men on earth. But more than that, it’s time to make playing in empty stadiums (or at least banning home fans) and points deductions (or being thrown out of the competition if a cup match) the norm for fans misbehaving. If every incident of fans misbehaving is going to result in a fine, a further financial hit by being forced to play a match without fans (an refunding any tickets out of their own books) and a points deduction/disqualification from a cup, then teams would suddenly put a lot more emphasis on controlling and improving the behaviour of it’s fans.

If something doesn’t change soon, the beautiful game will be forever tarnished by the ugliest of smears…

A Refreshing Change

A Refreshing Change

We all know that World Rugby are constantly tinkering, looking to improve the game. Well they’re at it again. Over the last couple of weeks, World Rugby confirmed that a number of global trials that have been taken place will now be written into law with effect from 1ˢᵗ July 2022 (the ones that we have got used to over recent years: 50:22 kick, goal line drop out, reducing pre-bounding) while the inclusion of the brake foot at the scrum—which we saw during the Six Nations—has now been expanded to a global trial.

But the big news came a few days later, with the announcement of a new global trial starting from 1ˢᵗ July that will limit non-playing personnel on the field to aid the flow of the game. Per World Rugby’s own news release:

For all competitions, including Rugby World Cup 2021 playing in 2022, Rugby World Cup 2023 or stand-alone matches that begin after 1 July 2022 the following adjustments to Law 6 will apply:

Medics

  • Can only provide water to players who they are treating
  • Cannot field or touch a ball when it is live in play (sanction: penalty kick)

Additional personnel

  • Teams are permitted up to two dedicated water carriers
  • Water carriers cannot be a Director of Rugby or Head Coach
  • In elite-level rugby, water carriers will only be able to enter the field of play twice per half at points agreed with the match officials – this can only be during a stoppage in play or after a try has been scored
  • A person bringing on a kicking tee may carry one bottle for the kicker’s use only
  • These water/tee carriers must remain in the Technical Zone at all times before entering the field of play as permitted. Any attempt to field or touch the ball while it is live in play, including the technical zone, will be sanctioned with a penalty kick
  • No-one should approach, address or aim comments at the match officials, save for medics in respect of treatment of a player. Should this happen, the sanction will be a penalty kick

Players on the field

  • May access water behind the dead ball line or from within their Technical Zone at any time

Personally, I love this! We have got to the point where rugby players have become behemoths, and the stop/start nature of the game is making it too much of a “bigger team wins”. Hopefully with less chances for water carriers to come on, we will see players having to adapt and improve their stamina to go longer without assistance.

Too often we see the game slowed down by a million non-playing personnel making their way on the pitch at the shortest of stoppages, unnecessarily drawing everything out. Hopefully this will start to bring an end to this, especially now that medics can only bring water for the player they are directly treating.

Hopefully along with this, we will start to see more efficient time management from officials. Some people will say I’m only making a fuss as the Springboks are World Champions and looking so strong, but their success comes from slowing the game down so much by drawing out stoppages, which allows their giant players to recharge and dominate. I pay money to watch rugby, not constant stoppages, so alongside reducing the impact of non-playing personnel coming on the pitch, officials need to start speeding up the game when a team tries to slow it down at the set piece.

Thirty seconds to form up for a scrum/lineout and restart play (unless the official chooses to stop the game for a legitimate reason), with a free kick against whichever team fails to adhere to this timing would speed the game up so much and make a massive difference t the quality of rugby we are all watching. Hopefully this is the first step in the right direction.

What do you think of this new law trial?

Top 5: Hookers

Top 5: Hookers

Welcome back to my “Top 5” rugby series. This 13-article series has been inspired by countless conversations among friends or other fans over the years and will see me selecting my top 5 men’s rugby players who are currently playing at each position.

With all of these lists, I am picking who I feel are the best 5 at each position, so there may be some surprises in there as I select the players who I feel are most appropriate to the position despite there being multiple ways to play many positions. I try to watch rugby from a broad range of leagues as well as plenty (or too much, depending how you ask) of Test matches, but I appreciate that I still have some blind spots, while a list like this is subjective; so while the majority of each article will be my list, I also set my good friend and occasional collaborator Phil the challenge to select his top 5, which I will include below. I’d also love to hear your picks, so go ahead and post them in the comments!

Today, we are looking at hookers.

Top 5

Julien Marchand

The conveyor belt of talent at hooker that Les Bleus have been able to field through the professional era must be the envy of most teams, and in current starter Marchand they have their latest superstar. As well as getting his basics right at the set piece, he is a willing runner with the ball with a good blend of pace and power, while also winning more than his fair share of turnovers.

Malcolm Marx

A regular in the South African “Bomb Squad” of late, Marx can occasionally have an off day at the lineout, but more than makes up for it around the park. With the way he carries in attack and jackals in defence, having Marx on the pitch is like playing an extra back row.

Codie Taylor

A close fight between Taylor and fellow Kiwi Dane Coles, but the Crusader just gets the nod here. Like Marx, he can be a little iffy at the lineout on occasion, but he makes the list by being a matchup nightmare in attack, as he will frequently find himself using his pace and power to break in midfield like a centre, making 0-40 metres before he is brought down.

Julián Montoya

The Pumas hooker was stuck behind Agustín Creevy for so long at Test level but has excelled since being given the starting spot and continues to also show his quality with Leicester as one of the best hookers in the Premiership. Exceptional at the set piece, Montoya is a strong carrier whose dynamism when he has space in front of him goes underrated, while in defence he can hit hard and jackal effectively.

Jamie George

Sometimes you can become one of the best just by doing the basics to a really high level. Such is the case with Jamie George. Super reliable at the set piece, George also has a great workrate in defence, while those who only watch him play for boring England probably don’t realise just how dynamic he can be in attack.

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Phil’s top 5: Malcolm Marx, Dane Coles, Folau Fainga’a, Bongi Mbonambi, Jamie George

Who makes your top 5?

Top 5: Loosehead Props

Top 5: Loosehead Props

Welcome to my new series, “Top 5”. This 13-article series has been inspired by countless conversations among friends or other fans over the years and will see me selecting my top 5 men’s rugby players who are currently playing at each position.

With all of these lists, I am picking who I feel are the best 5 at each position, so there may be some surprises in there as I select the players who I feel are most appropriate to the position despite there being multiple ways to play many positions. I try to watch rugby from a broad range of leagues as well as plenty (or too much, depending how you ask) of Test matches, but I appreciate that I still have some blind spots, while a list like this is subjective; so while the majority of each article will be my list, I also set my good friend and occasional collaborator Phil the challenge to select his top 5, which I will include below. I’d also love to hear your picks, so go ahead and post them in the comments!

Today, we are looking at loosehead props.

Top 5

  • Loosehead prop
Joe Marler

If you can’t scrummage, you’re not going to make it very far as a prop in rugby. Well Joe Marler has made a career of being an elite scrummager. While he may not be as visible around the park as some other names on the list and should never be throwing into a lineout again, Marler is super-reliable at the set piece and showed his quality in the RWC2019 Final when he came off the bench to shore up the England scrum against the Springboks.

Steven Kitshoff

Speaking of the Springboks, Steven Kitshoff was a part of that dominant pack in 2019. Often found these days as part of the “Bomb Squad”, Kitshoff is an elite scrummager, but what makes the Stormers loosehead stand out is his ability to get over the ball at the breakdown and jackal as well as any back rower.

Trevor Nyakane

As someone who has played both sides of the scrum at the lowest of levels, I know just how different tighthead feels to loosehead. As such, I have a degree of respect for anyone who can play both sides of the scrum to a good enough level for professional rugby. Nyakane is one such player, but his best performances have come in the number 1 jersey, where he dominated the British & Irish Lions at the scrum.

Cyril Baille

If I was having to pick a World XV right now, Baille would be getting my pick at loosehead. An elite scrummager, Baille can jackal almost as well as Kitshoff, but is arguably the most involved of these first 4 props in the attacking game, where he can not just carry hard but has the handling skills to keep the ball moving when contact isn’t the right option. In terms of all-round play, he currently has no match at the position.

Ellis Genge

Probably the most controversial pick on this list and I can already hear calls of English bias, but Genge crept into the top 5 off the back of some strong scrummaging displays. Where he really comes alive though is his dynamic carrying, where he has the power to bash over from close range or the pace to burst through a gap and make some big metres.

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Phil’s top 5: Steven Kitshoff, Ellis Genge, Cian Healy, Joe Marler, Ofa Tu’ungafasi

Who makes your top 5?

The Brady 6

The Brady 6

Welcome to Sport on the Silver Screen. In this series, I will be looking back over sports movies and series that I have recently watched/re-watched and giving my thoughts on them. Getting into the Schmoedown and starting to follow a number of the personalities from the show has given me a much greater appreciation of movies and seen me starting to watch more, while a resolution for 2022 has also seen me making a resolution to watch more series.

Being a fan of both movies and sports, I have taken the chance to start highlighting the sheer volume of sports movies out there, while also now throwing in the occasional series. In each article I will be giving some details about the movie/series and then a quick review, including a section giving a sports fan’s perspective of the action’s realism.

This series has been heavily influenced by Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai of Action Industries, but I will not be looking at the traditional “Fist-pump moment” and “Favourite line” sections due to just how much more content a series provides compared to a movie, instead talking about the prospects for the future of the show. Be aware, there will be spoilers, but I will try to keep them to a minimum.

Today, I will be looking at an episode in the ESPN documentary series Year of the Quarterback called The Brady 6

sport screen nfl the brady 6 tom brady

Key facts

Released in 2011

Distribution (UK) Not currently streaming anywhere but can be found in full on YouTube, on the NFL Films channel

Starring Tom Brady

Synopsis A documentary looking back at the 2000 NFL Draft and the careers of the 6 Quarterbacks who were picked ahead of Tom Brady

Review

I really enjoy documentaries about Tom Brady. As someone who has paid some form of attention to the NFL since the mid-noughties and has closely followed the league since the 2009 season, he has been a constant in the league. The undeniable GOAT, Brady’s achievements are incredible and deserve respect, but are made into an even better story when you remember that he was a sixth-round draft pick!

That is what this episode focuses on, looking at the draft itself and why Brady dropped as low as pick #199 (he and his family were expecting him to go in the 2ⁿᵈ or 3ʳᵈ round) and looking at the careers of the 6 Quarterbacks who were picked ahead of him (spoilers: none will be considered in contention for GOAT status, some never even started a regular season game!). But really it could be called the Brady 7, as by looking at why Brady dropped down draft boards we see that a big part of it was the way that despite being the better QB, his senior year in Michigan saw him splitting time with Drew Henson—the one most people would have expected to go on to greatness at the time—and so he gets the same recognition and comparison as the Brady 6.

To put in perspective where we were at this point: Brady had just been named League MVP for the second time. He had led the Patriots to 4 Super Bowls, winning 3 and being named Super Bowl MVP in 2 of them. He also held the record for the most passing touchdowns in a season (50 in 2007), which has to date only been beaten once (Peyton Manning threw 55 in 2013) and matched once (Patrick Mahomes, 2018). If his career ended there, he was already probably a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Similar to Man in the Arena, we get input from Brady and a number of other people involved: the 7 QBs the show focuses on, Tom’s father, Bill Belichick, a number of coaches who drafted members of the Brady 6, draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr, a couple of the Michigan football staff, Aaron Shea (NFL Tight End and Brady’s teammate at Michigan) and more!

What this show manages in less than 50 minutes is to show just how easy it is for a player to be overlooked. Brady’s measurables were nothing special and the way that the coaches were splitting his time with Henson just added doubt in everybody’s mind. And in so doing it shows how Brady developed the chip on his shoulder and motivation that would take him to become the GOAT. Meanwhile it showed how big the jump can be from college to the NFL, or how injuries or a lack of quality around a QB can ruin a promising career by looking at the careers of the Brady 6.

Having just watched Man in the Arena, this actually worked as a great accompanying documentary, as its focus is more on Michigan and the Draft, while just touching on some moments from the first half of his career. And it’s a great reminder of just how special Brady’s success is from Pick #199 when you compare to the players picked ahead of him at his position, and also the other Patriots picked ahead of him that year—2 of whom never even made the main roster!

What did you think of The Brady 6? Let me know in the comments. Until next time!